Wednesday, July 24, 2013

RWA National Brief Recap

I’m home!I had a wonderful time at the Romance Writers
of America National Conference in Atlanta,
but it’s good to be back and returning to my regular writing groove.

I not only
networked and met up with a lot of wonderful people, sold and gave away copies
of some of my books, and attended a lot of parties, but I also went to
workshops.The program this year
reflected the change in the publishing industry.There were a lot of workshops relating to
self-publishing, along with more usual topics like writing craft and
promotion--not to mention spotlights on certain publishers.I had a lot of fun going to Harlequin and Berkley-related
panels and events.

One topic
that I focused on more than many of the others was promotion.I attended several panels on branding
oneself, and although I don’t think I have that nailed down yet I doubt
anyone’ll be surprised that my brand includes suspense, romance... and animals.

The other
subject that particularly interested me was how to form a street team.That sounds like so much fun!What’s a street team?Well, it’s a group of people who can be friends and fans
of a particular writer, who in essence help with that writer’s promotion by
reading her work and posting and encouraging reviews, receiving bookmarks and
other promotional material and passing them out in bookstores, libraries, and
other relevant places, and generally talking about that writer’s work.In return, they receive free copies of the
author’s books and other fun stuff like swag--T-shirts, for example.And of course they stay in contact with that
writer and learn what’s yet to come.

I’m
currently considering whether and when to form a street team.Do you have any ideas?Do you have, or belong to, a street
team?What’s your opinion of them?And... if and when I get around to trying to
form one, would you be interested in joining???

OK, I used to be a bookseller, so I read a lot of blogs to keep up with authors I enjoy. I was reading Jennifer Chivarini's (sorry I know that's not right) and if you were one of the 1st 15 or so to comment, she sent you a special pin and postcards to hand out to your friends, potential readers. I was going to a quilting retreat and gave them all away to a lot of quilters who had not been exposed to her before. And it worked! I've run into people who said, I'd never read her until you recommended her!